Cry
by Butterfly Bandage
Summary: Sometimes, the only person who can really comfort you is the person who's been with you your whole life. oneshot, Johnny and Sue fic, sibling love, spoilers for second movie.


**A/N:** Okay, first I need to explain the odd setting in this one. Okay, so, the plot comes from the comics (the characters refer to an incident that occured during the Fantastic 4 comics continously), as well as make several references to what happened in the movies. However, the characters are more like their Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes counterparts. Everyone understand? Goodie.

My mind just kept bugging me to write this. So here it is.

Oh yeah, and by the way, the girl mentioned near the beginning that hacked into the French government is my character Kaylee. XD

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Fantastic 4 (DAMMIT). They belong to Stan Lee (his cameo in the second movie was freaking hilarious. XD "I'm Stan Lee!" "Okay, Mister... Whatever...") and Jack Kirby. The lyrics are from Cry by Mandy Moore.

**Cry**

**.:X:.**

_**I'll always remember. It was late afternoon.**_

_**It lasted forever, and ended so soon.**_

_**You were all by yourself, staring up at a dark grey sky**_

_**I was... changed.**_

_**In places no one will find,**_

_**all your feelings so deep inside,**_

_**was there that I realized**_

_**that forever was in your eyes**_

_**The moment I saw you cry.**_

**.:X:.**

It had been years since Sue had seen her younger brother Johnny show anything re_mote_ly similar to regret for one of his stupid mistakes. Usually he just scoffed and said, "If it can fix itself, let it fix itself. If not, show me to the door." Then he'd clap her shoulder in a distracted kind of way and walk out, grinning to himself.

Typical Johnny. He never usually did anything that bad anyways. Mostly it was annoying the hell out of Ben or Courtney.

Or Sue herself, come to think of it.

That was just how he was. For Johnny, life was a sort of game. Try to get to the highest level, power-up, fight the bad guys. Avoid the game over. The big screw-ups that really caused something to go wrong. Kind of like when Reed's online friend once mentioned that she hacked into the French government and got in mad trouble for it. Reed said she was still compensating for that.

But Johnny had never really done anything _that_ bad. There was that time he _almost_ burnt down the Baxter Building, but he didn't _actually_ do it. And that whole Kree empire thing was fixed, too.

But Sue did remember that look that Johnny had had on his face when she and Ben had been transported to the courtroom where Reed and Johnny had been. It had been an odd expression, one that was almost like... pain, maybe, or regret. And the more clips of his screw-ups they showed, the more pronounced the look became. By the time they'd left the courtroom, Johnny had been unusally silent. He had, of course, reverted back to his usual obnoxious self, with "Kick Me" signs on people's backs and the like.

But Sue never forgot the look in Johnny's eyes when they'd left the courtroom.

Johnny just wasn't a responsible person. He got in trouble with NASA, for crying out loud. That wasn't very responsible for a teenager with so much natural talent that he was drafted into NASA in the _first_ place. No it was not.

So why did he look so down that day he came home afterwards?

"Nah, I didn't really wanna work there anyways," he had said, grinning. "It was boring, all they did was talk about space and stuff like that. No fun." Then he reached into the fridge and grabbed a can of soda. "So when're we goin' into space, huh? I can't wait to boss Ben around." He snapped open the soda and downed it in two gulps. But Sue could see right through his charade. She knew he was mad at himself for screwing up big time. That's what comes of being siblings. And the Storm siblings had been close since their mother died.

Maybe that was when it started. When the Johnny she used to know-- the completely carefree, without a worry Johnny-- slowly began to disappear. That Johnny had come back slightly after the accident up at the space station, when they all first discovered their powers, running around as the 'Face of the Fantastic Four". He had been reckless, even stupid. And while she was certainly mad at him for being an idiot, at the same time she was happy. Happy because she prefered this Johnny to the Johnny that had appeared after their mother's death.

But _this_... this was just too much.

**.:X:.**

A grim look passed over Reed's face. "How is he?"

Ben didn't look at him as he walked into the living room. "Still depressed, big time. I didn't think the kid could _get_ that depressed."

Sue came to her brother's defence. "It's not like he doesn't have a reason to be depressed, right? I mean, if a kid tried to make a force-field to stop something from hurting them and, well, it didn't, I'd be depressed, too!" She crossed her arms. "You didn't honestly think Johnny would just parade around, not caring about what happened, do you?"

Ben held up his large hands. "Whoa, whoa, Susie. I never said that. I'm just sayin' that I never expected Matchstick to be that bummed out. He's just sittin' there staring at the wall, not doin' anthing. It's creepy." He looked back towards Johnny's room. "An' he wouldn't talk to me, either. Not even to get out. Didn't even _look _at me. Didn't call me names or nothing. It's not like him."

Sue looked out the window. "Poor Johnny," she muttered. "This affected him more than I thought it would."

**"Dr. Richards?"**

Reed glanced over at the super computer. "What is is, H.E.R.B.I.E.?"

**"Jonathan left a message. He said, 'Tell everyone I'm going out for a little while. I'll be back later.' He seemed... 'happy'?"**

Sue cocked an eyebrow. "'Upset', H.E.R.B.I.E. 'Upset'."

The answer was chipper, as usual. **"Ah, yes! Of course! I always mess those up, don't I?"**

Ben shook his head. "Weirdest computer ever, I swear. And the kid still won't even talk to us. That's kinda annoying. Where are you going?" he asked, as Sue got up and grabbed her coat. "Going to follow him," she answered, slipping into the sleeves. "I'm pretty sure I know what he's doing. H.E.R.B.I.E.?" she asked, as an afterthought, "Did Johnny go out in his FF gear, or was he wearing normal clothes?"

There was a short pause, then an answer, rather hestiant as the super computer went through his memory files. **"No, he wasn't wearing his uniform. I believe that he was in his leather jacket and jeans."  
**

"And did he take his car?"

**"No."**

Sue smiled slightly. "Then it shouldn't be too hard to catch up to him. He probably didn't fly."

"Where are you going, Sue?" Reed asked curiously.

She turned back at him.

"The cemetary."

**.:X:.**

The wind wasn't that strong, but it was still enough to give Sue a slight scare when it nearly blew her off of her levitation force-field. It seemed to match the current situation very well: out of balance and out of control. This probably wasn't one of the memories they would ever look back on, for fear of an awkward silence or a return of the pain everyone --especially Johnny-- was feeling.

It was impossible to avoid.

She kept telling herself that, repeating it in her head, trying to find the perfect method of saying it so that Johnny wouldn't just try to walk away or fly away or whatever he would've done. It needed to be soothing, fragile, gentle. Sue had never seen her brother go through a breakdown like this, and she probably never would again.

It was impossible to avoid.

She neared the cemetary. It was a familiar place; she'd gone there a lot to visit their mother. And she was positive that was where her brother was now.

As she floated over the section next to where Mrs. Storm was buried, she was gratified to see that she had been right: Johnny was standing in front of the grave with his hands in his pockets, staring at the engraving in the stone. As she neared him, she was startled at the look on his face. His eyes were lidded, almost glazed, like nothing mattered to him anymore. There were bags under his eyes as well, but that was understandable; H.E.R.B.I.E. had kept a steady report for them all of Johnny's actions, and the computer clearly stated that Johnny had just stared at the ceiling, not sleeping at all.

Sue landed next to him, and her force-field disappeared. Johnny didn't look at her, but he said softly "Hey, sis." His voice was hoarse. "Just visiting Mom."

She glanced at the stone before looking back at her brother. He still didn't look at her, but he kept talking in that same small voice. "I was just thinking. Remember when Dad accidentally killed one of his patients, and he was really depressed about it?"

Sue tried to talk to him. "Johnny..."

"Yeah, that was when the drinking started, wasn't it?" His voice raised ever so slightly, but he was still breathing normally. It was almost like the anger he was probably feeling was barely there. "It was almost like he didn't even care about us anymore... and then when Mom died..." His voice cracked.

Sue sighed, then put her hand on Johnny's shoulder. "But you forgot the part where Mom comforted him and made him feel better. And then he apologized for the way he'd acted."

"You trying to make a point?"

She shook her head. "No. I'm trying to tell you that we're really worried about you. You know that, right? I know you do."

Johnny still didn't look at her. "I don't know why. I have every right to feel this way, don't I?"

"Johnny--"

"Look, Sue, why can't you just admit it? I screwed up big time. No, you know what? I _fucked _it up big time, that's what I did. I really _fucked it up._ And you're trying to give me a lecture about how I didn't, right? Isn't that why you're here, Sue, to try and make me feel better?" He glared at the grave, his eyes glowing red and narrowed down to slits. But they weren't angry. It was almost like he was trying to tell her that he wanted her to.

She tried one more time. "Johnny, you didn't mess up. How could you have? Are you the one that put that kid on fire? Did you? Huh?" He winced at her words, but she kept going. "Are you the one who told the kid that setting himself on fire would make him look like you?"

"No, but I was the one who was stupid enough to think that someone that can spontaniously combust would make a good superhero." His eyes weren't narrowed anymore, but he still stared at the grave with ruby-red irises.

"So what? You can burst into flame. That doesn't make you unworthy of being a superhero."

"Yeah?" he retorted; she was getting really sick of his refusal to look at her. Which of course, with the Storms' inherited short temper, wasn't a good thing. "Well, sis, I thank you kindly for your wonderful words of encouragement and kindness, but if you don't mind, I think I'm going to go now---"

_SMACK._

If Sue had ever seen Johnny's face more shocked than it had been at that moment when she slapped him across the face, then it must've been the biggest surprise of his life.

He blinked before reaching up slowly and feeling his stinging cheek. It really, really hurt. There was no doubt in his mind that she used a bit of force-field in that slap.

But he finally, finally looked at her. And that was what she had been hoping for.

She prodded his chest, aware that his eyes were back to their ice-blue color. Sue had always found it ironic that Johnny's eyes were more like ice than her's were, and yet not only was he more or less the reincarnation of fire, but his eyes were always so much warmer and friendlier than her's. "Now, you listen to me, Jonathan Spencer Storm." He winced again. Not good; the full name. "You may be physically stronger than me, but you know that I can kick your ass if I wanted to. And you leave when I tell you, understand?" He nodded, still looking at her with widened eyes.

Sue had never hit him across the face before. At least, not like that. _No pun intended_, he thought, _but my face feels like it's on freakin'_ fire. _Jesus Christ..._

Her face softened as she stared up into his eyes. "Now, you are going to listen to me. It wasn't your fault. Do you hear me? It was impossible to avoid. There was no way we could've seen it coming. Johnny, I know you. I know that something like this is hurting you more than you're letting it show." When he opened his mouth, she just cut over him. "I'm surprised that you haven't broken down completely yet--"

"I did."

She stopped, startled. That look in his eyes was back; that deadened look.

"I did, but I just didn't let you guys see I didn't want you to worry." To her dismay, he was looking back at their mother's grave. "You remember that thing with that Silver Surfer guy? When you..." he swallowed hard. "When you died, and I couldn't even help you... I couldn't _touch _you at all... that night was one of the worst nights of my life. Even when I knew you were alive, I still... I still felt really, really scared."

She stared at him for a few seconds, realizing the full extent of what he had said. "That must've been... horrible." Sue couldn't think of any other words for it. The thought of not being able to help Johnny during a time when--

Oh God, she was stupid.

He'd been trying to tell her the whole time. When he was in his room, it was now painfully obvious that while half of him really didn't want to talk to them, at the same time, he did. But he couldn't bring himself to, and she should've talked to him anyways, even if he didn't answer.

Because that's what sisters do.

"Johnny, I--"

Johnny chuckled softly. "Don't make me feel worse, Suze," he said jokingly, then sniffed. "Allergies are getting to me, huh?" He sniffed again, then quickly turned away with an arm to his face.

Sue couldn't help but laugh. "You don't have allergies."

Johnny looked over at her, blue-eyes shimmering. "Don't I? Oh, well, there goes my excuse."

Sue laughed again, then walked over closer to him and wrapped her arms around him. She usually only hugged him when one of them needed comforting, whether it was a mention of their father, or that night in China.

It was like that night back when their mother died. Johnny had crawled into Sue's bed and they'd sat there, too stunned to do anything except embrace each other and cry softly. Sue hadn't seen Johnny cry since that day.

Until now.

**.:X:.**

**A/N: **That was... angsty. And you know what's funny? I saw the movie today, and I'd written the whole 'screw-up' scene in here before I saw the movie, and then Johnny goes and admits the way he screws up all the time in the movie. I was like, O.o

Reviews, please:D


End file.
